Include IT spend in 2010 budget to remain competitive

Recruitment firms need to include IT spend for new services in next years budgets in order to remain competitive in the marketplace according to a leading expert on technology in the staffing sector.

Raymond Pennie, who is Commercial Director of IT outsourcing specialists Kamanchi as well as Co-Chair of APSCos Technology Forum, says that recruitment firms who fail to invest in the latest technology risk falling behind their competitors as the war for talent heats up in 2010.

This is the time of year when management teams set budgets for the coming 12 months, says Raymond. Recruitment firms who fail to include IT spend when putting together their figures run a real risk of falling behind the competition as online services increasingly becomes the single most important means of sourcing candidates.

Social networking sites, CV databases and clients building their own candidate networks are just some of the trends which Raymond sees in the market which make it imperative for recruiters to have access to the latest technology.

Without a strong IT strategy recruitment firms will struggle to make best use of the tools available to them. Those firms with the most efficient systems will be best-placed to take advantage of the upturn when it comes, says Raymond. Its also important to remember that IT innovation does not stand still. With an IT budget in place recruitment firms will be ready to take up the next killer application when it hits the market.